A Shark's Patience
by Ember8123
Summary: Rin's been wondering just what the relationship between Makoto and Haruka has been ever since he returned from Australia and he's starting to get rather antsy to find out about it.
1. Chapter 1

If Rin could pick out the one thing that bothered him the most upon coming home from Australia, it would Haruka and Makoto. How they were a lot closer than he could have ever remembered them being. At least, it seemed that they were a lot closer if the way that the taller man trailed after the other almost all day, every day was any sort of indicator. It really wouldn't have bothered him so much if the two didn't act like such a married couple around one another, what with the light bickering ending in smiles; the two continuing to walk side-by-side, even if the red-head was close behind or in front of them.

After a while of observing, his only goal was to figure out what kind of relationship they truly had. After all, if he could find that much out maybe all the bitterness he felt towards it would disappear and he could go back to just not even bothering with it again. It would have been just like old times when they were younger and swimming together back in the old club.

At least that's what he thought before something deep in his gut told him that even if that happened nothing would be resolved. No, he wanted Haruka for himself and, with the way things were going now between him and Makoto, Rin honestly knew in his heart that he wouldn't feel any better until his first best friend belonged to him. A terrifying thought, considering he never really wanted anybody before Haruka. Nobody really appealed to him - not even Nitori who threw such obvious advances from time to time, what with the way he fussed over swimming and running with him sometimes. He felt bad for his poor roommate and the obvious affections that Rin had to train his mind to ignore. Someday Nitori would eventually find someone better to swim for, someone who would pay attention to him the way that the kid deserved.

Rin knew that no matter who Nitori chose to be with that it wouldn't grate on his mind like how the relationship he had to witness every day between a certain pair of his teammates! Oh, how the sight of the two drove him up a mental wall! It almost pushed him past the line of insanity to watch Haruka be so damn domestic with Makoto! It was practically waved in his face at certain points, especially when Nagisa had the bright idea about getting together once a week with the entire gang of five - which promptly meant that Rin would be on the floor with a pillow while Rei cuddled with Nagisa and Makoto sat on the couch with Haruka, watching the movie comfortably. Really, Rin always thought that he should be on that couch in Makoto's place, leaning on his crush and enjoying a good film or two.

Then again, maybe he really was just looking too far into this and should have just calmed down and asked one of the two about their relationship. Perhaps he was just being overprotective and wanting far too much so his imagination ran wild the more he saw the two together.

"You two act like a married couple," Nagisa had pointed out one time when the five of them went to an aquarium for a nice laid-back day.

The comment almost drove him wild, knowing that it was most certainly not directed at himself and Haruka, and all thoughts that it was just his own imagination flew out the window. At least it really wasn't just him who thought along those lines.

"Eh...? It's not like you and Rei are any better, Nagisa," Makoto pointed out in return, getting a rather loud yelp and a blush out of Rei who hadn't even realized he was holding the shorter boy's hand while they walked alongside one another.

"Makoto, I believe that you and I would both find it highly improbable that Nagisa and I act in such a manner. There's no logic behind that accusation."

"But, Rei, acting like a married couple is so beautiful!"

The quick response that came from the quirky blond didn't help in making Rei's blush disappear, and he had to reach up to fix his glasses out of nervous habit. The oh-so-riveting conversation was ended there and Rin just had to look over to Makoto and Haruka, a scowl briefly curling his lips downward with the slightest show of sharp teeth. The taller of the pair was talking away, as usual it seemed, and smiling at the short answers he got out of his shorter companion. They really were like a married couple and the fact that they just seemed to have to stand so close to each other was not helping that in the slightest. How. Peachy.

Rin's curiosity took over quickly as both he and Makoto watched Haruka quickly walk away to observe a tank that had mackerel and other sea creatures in it. Seeing his chance, he quickly turned to the remainder of the pair and crossed his arms with a slightly cocked eyebrow. He was going to find out what was going on between the two even if it killed him.

"Rin?" Makoto had asked, though the red-head in question was cut off the moment he opened his mouth by a quick cry of, "Haru!"

Just by the tone alone, Rin could tell that the man in question was trying to get into a door that lead backstage so he could go swim with the wildlife. The fool... Really, sometimes Rin couldn't help but wonder why he started loving Haruka in the first place but here he was, smitten with his raven-haired friend. Emotions had a rather strange way of working. Shaking his head with a small, almost unnoticeable smirk and a chuckle, he turned and ran over to help restrain the near-stripping man to keep the five of them from getting tossed out of their small haven.

Rin supposed he would just have to wait to find out about the relationship between those two after all. Although, a shark's patience is never exactly a thing to be trifled with in the first place.


	2. Chapter 2

AN: Here's the second and final chapter of A Shark's Patience! I appreciate you guys for waiting for this. I'm not gonna make any excuses as to why it's late. I got caught up playing DRAMAtical Murder and Togainu no Chi so it took me a little bit to pump this one out. My beta reader, unfortunately, was at work when I wrote this so it might be a little sloppy. I apologize in advance. Thank you all so much for reading this!

* * *

What the hell did Nitori mean by 'Captain is going out on a date with your sister, Rin'? Was it a sick joke? Did Seijuurou really think it was just fine and dandy to start dating his sister without asking permission first? Not that Rin was entitled to even force him to ask permission, but it would have been nice! Especially since he was older than that other red-haired punk.

Something about imagining his little sister going out with his own swim captain didn't appeal to him; maybe it was the way Gou initially swooned whenever she saw Seijuurou, or the fact she managed to get information just from flirting, or the fact he never managed to focus like he needed to whenever she came around. It had to be a mix of all three of those. It just had to be.

That's what drove Rin to make the insane decision to actually leave campus to find the couple; not to stalk them, no! It was purely to watch over them and make sure Seijuurou didn't try anything funny. Not stalking in the slightest, he believed. It only turned into stalking after he managed to find them on a walk, deciding to follow them just for a bit longer. A bit longer turned into an hour; an hour turned into a couple more. Meanwhile, Rin was dragged to everywhere around town: the beach, the mall, the movie theater, the aquarium (didn't anybody else involved with the swim team have anything better to do?), and finally a restaurant -really, it couldn't be classified as such, it was more of a diner. Of course, he thought he already spent enough money for the day but he wasn't about to give up just yet. He'd gone too far to drop out.

What he hadn't been aware of, however, was the fact that in the same restaurant sat Makoto, Haruka, Nagisa, and Rei. Thinking back on it in the future, Rin would have figured that was the first mistake he made.

What almost got him in trouble was when his sister happened to look directly at him while laughing at one of Seijuurou's jokes. Rin bolted out of his seat so fast that he could have sworn he'd make a great Olympic track runner, too. He wound up pushing both himself and Haruka into the supply closet near the restrooms to hide. It was moments later he realized who it was he ran into, his own auburn eyes widening as they locked with ocean blue.

"Haru..." It was almost a whisper with the way it came out, one filled with disbelief and an undertone of embarrassment, "I didn't know you were here."

His childhood friend made a small noise, almost one that sounded amused, before speaking. "Following your sister?"

The question caught the red-head off-guard, subduing him into silence which gave Haruka another chance to speak, "I never thought you would be that protective."

"Well, I don't trust that guy!" Came the quick response before he visibly tensed once it clicked in his mind. If Haruka was here, that meant Makoto was here as well. Whether or not the pair was alone was meaningless to Rin right at that moment. What mattered was that the two were in a restaurant, together, eating, probably having fun. Acting like a couple.

"Why are you here? With Makoto?" The question came out with more venom than he meant it to.

"Nagisa and Rei, too."

"It doesn't matter!" Rin's temper went a little overboard, then, but he couldn't exactly take it back, "It doesn't matter..." he was so close to just spilling everything that he felt, "You're always with Makoto. Even if it's just supposed to be you and me, you're with Makoto. It's all you talk about sometimes, Haru! 'Makoto and I'. Do you know how hard it is to listen to that day in and day out when I'm with you?!"

Haruka's eyes widened just a bit. It seemed that Rin's words caught him off-guard. Good, make him think a little about what he's been doing.

"I don't want it to wind up being you and Makoto, Haru. I want it to wind up being 'Rin and I' to you."

"Rin, stop crying."

What? Rin reached up a hand to brush against his cheeks only to find that they were, indeed, damp. Oh. He started crying half way through his rant. But... It was dark in the closet. Too dark to see tears. "How did you-"

"You're a crybaby."

Rin tensed before he let out a groan and rolled his eyes, reaching for the door handle so he could leave. So much for pouring his heart out to his best friend and expecting anything else than a cold or smart-ass answer.

There was warmth on his hand. Warmth that engulfed it, that most certainly wasn't his own tears.

"Rin..."

The call of his name was so soft he couldn't believe that it actually came from Haruka, the person who stood no more than three inches from him due to the space they had.

"Haru?"

Then there was a soft warmth on his lips in turn. Only for a few seconds, but there definitely was something there for a brief moment. It took him a little to realize it was another pair of lips. Ones that molded nicely with his own. Haru's.

Rin's heart pounded in his chest as he felt his cheeks heat up, no doubt a bright red like his hair at this point. It was on impulse that he tugged his best friend forward and held him against his chest and it was on that same impulse that he leaned down and pressed his lips against Haru's in turn.

Maybe this was how it was honestly meant to be, Rin figured. Him and Haru. Makoto had nothing to do with what they had. Too bad Rin had to realize that after the fact his patience snapped and he wound up crying in front of the other. He was manly as hell.

The misfortune of the door opening just had to fall upon the couple that were both literally, and probably figuratively, in the closet. Luckily - or unluckily, depending on how it was viewed-, rather than it being a janitorial staff member, it wound up being Nagisa, who almost cheered too loud about how he 'knew it' as he ran back to the table. Yet, taking one another's hand and allowing their fingers to intertwine as they left the supply closet and close the door to walk back to the table designated for their group of friends rather than Rin going to sit alone... It was nice. It was really nice.

The fact that he confessed in a supply closet that he hid in to avoid being seen by his sister and her date was never lived down, and he most certainly was yelled at by Gou for following her and her date. However, if there was one thing that one of the Matsuoka siblings would never live down, it was the way Gou almost fangirled over such 'amazing muscles' would be combining into one couple.

Haruka almost always found amusement in Rin's habits, just as he found amusement in Haruka's in turn. The two wound up being a surprisingly compatible couple, though Nagisa continually kept pointing out that he knew it would happen eventually.

A shark's patience was never anything to trifle with, according to Rin, but it was out of sheer luck that the dolphin's patience seemed to be just as bad.


End file.
